It’s been roughly two months since Maryland’s 2019 baseball season came to an end, but there is still plenty of Terps news over the summer.

Most recently, it’s by way of AJ Lee, who is having some early season success in the minor leagues. Lee was drafted in the 34th round by the Houston Astros in the 2019 MLB Draft and was assigned to short-season A ball with the Tri-City ValleyCats.

Through 18 games with the ValleyCats, Lee has a .288 batting average, with a .408 on-base percentage and a .424 slugging percentage. On Monday night, Lee had his best moment yet for the ValleyCats, as he hit his first professional home run.

Lee has a long way to go before the major leagues, but his hot start is promising for his future in professional baseball. 

Former Terrapin Mike Shawaryn also started his professional career in short-season A ball after getting drafted in the fifth round of the 2016 draft and just recently made his MLB debut for the Boston Red Sox. Shawaryn’s success bodes well for Lee and for the Maryland program that got back to postseason play in 2019.

While at Maryland, Lee was named all-Big Ten third-team in 2017 and 2019 and was named team captain prior to his senior season. In 2019, Lee led the Terps with a .317 batting average and a .443 on-base percentage.